1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to floor mats for use in automobiles and other motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to removable accessory mats designed to overlie and protect carpeted automobile floors.
2. Background Information
Floor mats of the "throw-in" or accessory type are widely employed to protect the carpeted floors of automobiles and other vehicles. These mats are generally manufactured with a planar configuration and are usually formed from a material sufficiently flexible to conform in a general way to the multiplicity of shapes and contours characteristic of automobile floors.
A problem associated with automobile floor mats is their tendency to wear in certain "high use" areas, e.g., where the driver's feet are usually stationed. Specifically, a floor mat located on the driver's side of an automobile tends to wear more extensively near the gas pedal. Because of the extended wear in these "high use" areas, it is common to attach what is known as a heel pad to the floor mat. Because heel pads need to withstand extensive wear and tear, they preferably are constructed of a woven heavy-weight carpet with an appropriate backing.
Since the heel pad is separately formed from the floor mat, the heel pad and floor mat must be joined together. The conventional technique used to join heel pads to floor mats is through the use of a hot melt adhesive film or glue, together with processing through a heat tunnel. However, while this technique can be used with materials having high melting points, such as nylon, the heat tunnel technique cannot be successfully employed with heel pads and floor mats made from materials having lower melting point temperatures, like polypropylene. The temperatures required in the heat tunnel technique tend to melt the polypropylene material, thereby resulting in the unsightly distortion of the accessory mat. However, under certain circumstances, it is desirable to fabricate floor mats and heel pads from such materials. One desirable reason to use polypropylene is to offer a recyclable accessory mat.
Moreover, the conventional technique of the heat tunnel is unable to produce a joined heel pad and floor mat having a perimeter region of the heel pad made flush (or recessed in relation) to the upper surface of the floor mat. Therefore, the edges of a resulting heel pad sit above the floor mat, and are exposed for contact with the driver's feet. In addition, the heat tunnel method also does not always result in a sufficient bond between the heel pad and floor mat, and the edges of the heel pad may peel away from the floor mat and result in fraying and unraveling. Therefore, it may be necessary to "rim seal" the perimeter region of the nylon heel pads to the floor mats. The conventional method for rim sealing the perimeter region is by way of a radio frequency (RF) welding technique. By rim sealing the perimeter region by RF welding, a greater bond can be achieved between the heel pad and floor mat, and the edges of the heel pad can be recessed into the floor mat so that the interior region of the heel pad can be made flush to the upper surface of the floor mat. RF welding, however, cannot be employed with materials having low melting point temperatures, such as polypropylene, again because of the melting of the material and unsightly distortion thereof. Also, where RF welding is appropriate, such as with nylon materials, a channel is formed about the peripheral edge of the heel pad, which may not always be desirable.
Thus, a need exists for a new tool and method for joining heel pads to floor mats, which can be effectively used on floor mats and heel pads constructed from materials having low melting point temperatures. The structure and method of the present invention presents a solution to the aforementioned problems.